Controversial song lyrics: inciting or insightful?

Thursday

Been there, done that ... people have been debating this topic for decades. I say that song lyrics do not lead to harmful or destructive behavior.

Let me start by saying that you can never please everyone, especially when it comes to music.

People have been criticizing music for decades, and that seems rather counterproductive for the person delivering the criticisms because such comments usually put the spotlight on the piece of music and bring more attention to it ... not always in favor of the person or group advocating censorship.

A criticism this decade about lyrics that seem to be destroying our "values" is the same as a criticism of, say, Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff the Magic Dragon" (1963).

Simply put, this song is about smoking pot. Now, does it incite kids to go out and smoke the stuff? No, I think not.

In my opinion, songs and lyrics do not incite drug use.

Music tends to follow a formula. Lyrics take on the themes of teen angst, suicide, murder, drugs, love and sex (and its devastations - Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi": "Five years from now, she sits at home / Feeding the baby, she's all alone"); social issues like racism and incest - Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun": "What did her daddy do? / What did he put her through?"; political issues such as war and freedom - Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A": "And so they put a rifle in my hands / Sent me off to Vietnam"; and religious or anti-religious messages (John Lennon's "Imagine" is interpreted by some as being against organized religion: "Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion too").

The squeaky-clean Beatles (at least by today's standards) also wrote a song called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which is believed to have a connection with LSD.

In interviews, however, Lennon has said that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was never about LSD.

"It was purely unconscious that it came out to be LSD," he once said. "I mean, who would ever bother to look at initials of a title? It's not an acid song."

Criticized for drug references in the past, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is now mainstream music, as are many of the songs with controversial lyrics from the 1960s and '70s. Check out the Weather Channel using Pink Floyd as a backdrop ("Wish You Were Here": "And did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?").

It seems implausible to me that words in songs could ever coerce me to do anything! Certainly not drugs, suicide or murder.

If songs somehow did have any influence on me, my mom - no doubt about it - would inundate the airways with songs to "coerce" me into cleaning my room and bathroom, or doing the dishes without being told a bazillion times. Umm ... not going to happen.

On a more serious note, song lyrics are often widely misinterpreted.

Take the aforementioned "Born in the U.S.A." Many politicians and fans of the song believed it to be nationalistic. It is quite the opposite, taking a swipe at society and the government turning their back on Vietnam veterans.

I can honestly say, coming from a girl who listens to a wide variety of music, that controversial lyrics shouldn't be censored.

If I had a propensity toward drugs, violence or anything life-threatening, a song wouldn't take me to the edge - because I'd already be there.

I do not believe that lyrics incite lewd, licentious or illegal behavior.

I think they give us legitimate insight into the issues on the minds of many - young and old - and just leave us more informed.

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